Under The Sea, It's Pretty Weird

March 3, 2006|By Laura Kelly Staff Writer

It's pretty much eat or be eaten in the newest IMAX film Deep Sea. In 3D format, it sometimes looks like the audience is the main course.

The eye-popping documentary is narrated by Neverland co-stars Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. It submerges its specialized cameras into some of the coolest underground "forests" and "deserts," uncovering a truly bizarre array of sea life.

Depp's deep, measured tone is a perfect match for the underwater world, while Winslet sounds more like she's narrating a children's bedtime story. (Soundtrack king Danny Elfman cues in on the helpful side.)

However annoying Winslet's overzealous narration, the true stars here are the creatures, some of which have most definitely never received top billing before.

Who has ever heard of a nudibranch, a strangely amorphous gastropod? Not me (or my computer's spell-check). How about a ramrod-straight forest of tube anemones rising from the sandy ocean floor like tufted bamboo? All new.

The film's primary focus on maintaining balance in the ecosystem means that a lot of cute little innocent fish will become onscreen dinner for bigger, more homely, aggressive beasts. This, of course, means that younger children need to be prepared to watch a giant wolf eel devour a bright red, wavy, happy-seeming sea urchin after a surprise attack. But they also will get to witness the seeming miracle truce of turtles, barracuda and other serious predators stopping in at "cleaning stations" where the little guys are allowed to nibble on the bigger ones' coats of algae.

The added punch is that, while experiencing all these new creatures, the film requires 3D glasses. That means there's the constant urge to wave the jellyfish and seaweed -- and especially the effervescent but vicious giant squid -- out of your eyes.

Laura Kelly can be reached at lkelly@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4889.